Spaghetti with watercress and feta pesto

Name: Spaghetti with watercress and feta pesto
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 1 large garlic clove; 30g pine nuts or hazelnuts, toasted; 100g watercress, picked; 15g parmesan, plus extra for serving; 80ml extra-virgin olive oil; 70ml olive oil; 1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ halved and thinly sliced; 130g feta, crumbled; 400g spaghetti; Small handful of fresh basil, leaves picked

Published: 31 Mar 12
Updated: 18 Mar 24

Test kitchen approved

This fabulous pasta recipe takes only 20 minutes to make and with a few added ingredients you will have a fantastic lunch for the next day too (see tip).

Serves 4
Ready in 20 minutes

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Ingredients

1 large garlic clove
30g pine nuts or hazelnuts, toasted
100g watercress, picked
15g parmesan, plus extra for serving
80ml extra-virgin olive oil
70ml olive oil
1 lemon, ½ juiced, ½ halved and thinly sliced
130g feta, crumbled
400g spaghetti
Small handful of fresh basil, leaves picked

Method

Pulse the garlic and nuts in a food processor until roughly chopped, add the watercress and pulse again until you have a coarse paste. Spoon into a bowl, stir through the parmesan, then drizzle in the oils until you have a juicy paste. Season with lemon juice, a pinch of salt and lots of black pepper. Stir through the feta, then set aside.
Heat a pan over a high heat. Add the lemon slices and quickly fry on each side until starting to caramelise. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10 minutes until al dente. Drain, return to the pan and mix through the pesto and lemon slices. Spoon two-thirds of the pasta evenly among warmed bowls (reserve 250g for lunch the next day), then sprinkle with cracked black pepper and basil leaves to serve.

Recipe from April 2012 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 511kcals
Fat: 29.2g (7.1g saturated)
Protein: 15g
Carbohydrates: 46.7g (2.8g sugars)
Fibre: 3.1g
Salt: 0.9g

delicious. tips

You next-day lunchbox: Whisk 5 medium free-range eggs with a little milk and a pinch of chilli flakes, then season. Heat a knob of butter in a pan, add half the leftover spaghetti and 50g smoked salmon trimmings. Spread over the base of the pan. Pour in half the eggs, swirling to coat. Cook for 5 minutes until beginning to set. Slide onto a plate. Repeat. Cool, then store in the fridge for the next day.

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Spaghetti with watercress and feta pesto

Ingredients

Method

Nutrition

delicious. tips

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